HELLOOOOO, READERS! (that got your attention, didn't it?) ^-^ Well, enough with the greetings. Lets get to the part you've been waiting for- the next chapter!

Reviewer Thanks

Fangface the second: I'll see what I can do ;)

Things To Know

1) I own nothing but my own OC… even the bad ones, unfortunately.

2) Underlined Paragraphs will be Japanese

3) Bold Paragraphs will be creature-talk

4) "Quotes in italics" will be baby-talk

5) Every 5 chapters will be the start of a new chapter… if that makes sense… :p

- 3 - 3 - 3 -

Chapter Three

Yuma, Cheshire, Keimi and Elliot passed by the play-room, where they saw Jack, Skoon, and Puggsy sitting on a bench, watching as Shang and Baby Fangs played 'hide-and-seek' with Tan and Jun. "Hey, coffee's ready," Cheshire said, sticking his head in the doorway.

"Alright, kids, time fer a coffee-break!" Jack said, noticing that the kids were still hiding from the bunnies. "C'mon, now. Olly-olly oxin-free!"

"Ga ga," Shang said, climbing out of her hiding spot (a pile of stuffed animals) and ran over, jumping into the pirate's arms. Baby Fangs crawled over to Puggsy, who picked him up and carried him out.

"Usa, usa." Tan and Jun said, following them out and down the hall, then excitedly jumped into Yuma's arms, cuddling up to her and making her giggle.

As they walked down the hallway, they passed Pachira, who was leaning against the wall, smiling at the red-rose in her hand. When she saw her friends, she blushed and hid the rose behind her back. Her gaze fell on Puggsy, who gave her a small smile then turned away. She sighed, joining the group and walked next to Yuma. "What's with the rose?" Keimi asked her. Being invisible, Pachira didn't notice the invisible-girl was right behind her.

Pachira gasped, blushing even more, and noticed that Yuma was now looking at her. "I'll tell you guys later," she whispered.

Jack had noticed Puggsy smiling at Pachira, and nudged Skoon with his elbow. "Methinks our short comrade has heed me advice," he said, speaking monster.

Skoon looked at Puggsy, chuckling. "Methinks you are right," he replied.

"What are you guys talking about?" Cheshire asked, slyly.

Jack gave a slight nod toward Puggsy, who was walking ahead of them. "Dat boy-o got bit by deh love-bug, an' has feelings fer Pachira," he whispered.

Cheshire smirked, but his smirk faded and he rubbed his chin. "Hope Drake doesn't find out…"

As they walked toward the patio, they came across the rest of their friends. "Coffee, anyone?" Keimi asked, holding up the tray of coffee-cups. Everyone took one (except Baby Fangs, Shang, Tan, and Jun, of course). Elliot and Aiko both didn't take one, either- being a ghost and an android, they had no need for drinking beverages.

"So, are you guys still up for joining us for the 4th of July celebration, tonight?" Cheshire asked, smoothly.

"Of course we are," Yuma replied first, and everyone gave her a look. "Er, unless some of us had changed our minds…"

"We haven't!" Liru, Pachira, and Aiko gasped, hastily raising their hands into the air, obviously not wanting to upset their new friends.

"I'm still up for it, how about you guys?" Biff asked the others, who nodded in agreement.

"It doesn't start until later this evening… What should we do until then?" Elliot asked.

Yuma's face lit up, as she developed an idea. "I know! We could have a girl's day out!" she said, wrapping her arms around Kim, Liru, Aiko, and Pachira. "We can go to the mall, get makeovers, and buy come clothes for tonight!"

"What about us?" Fangs asked, referring to himself and the guys.

"Um… you could have a guy's day out,"

The guys looked at each other and shrugged. It was a pretty good plan, and it would help time fly. "Okay," they all said in agreement.

- 3 - 3 - 3 -

The group of girls went to the mall, looking through the windows, deciding what kind of outfits they could wear. Keimi had put on a sweater and long pants… making people panic when they saw a set of clothes 'float' out of the dressing room. "This is why I don't come out in public, often," she muttered, changing out of the clothes.

As they browsed around, Yuma turned to Pachira, seeing that she had pinned the rose in her hair. "So… where DID you get the rose?" she asked, slyly.

Pachira paused, blushing. "Ah… I got it from the hallway," she lied. "There was a vase full of them, and I thought they were pretty… and that it would match my outfit!"

"Uh, huh…" Kim said, not fooled one bit. "And the REAL reason?"

"A boy gave it to you, didn't he?" Aiko asked, excitedly.

Pachira blushed. "Um… maybe."

"Where did you meet?" Liru asked.

"Is he another prince?" Yuma asked.

"Is he hansom?" Keimi asked.

"Is he a secret admirer?" Aiko asked.

"Well… um… I met him in town…" Pachira replied slowly. "But, he's not a prince… or hansom… But he's really nice- somewhat…"

"What's his name?" Liru asked.

Pachira froze, a bit embarrassed to tell her friends that she was going out with the fifth worse-looking guy on the planet (the vile Netherworld princes being the other four). Kim noticed how tense she was, and figured she didn't want to say, so she jumped into the conversation. "Perhaps you'll be meeting him tonight?" she asked her.

"Erm… you could say that…" Pachira replied, meekly.

The other princesses were about to throw more questions at her, but Kim beat them to the punch. "Then we'll wait to see him. …Right now, we'd better find some outfits for tonight, right girls?"

"Okay…" The other princesses sighed.

Pachira wiped sweat off her forehead. That was close… Thank goodness Kimmy-chan said something! she thought. Although, one thought panged her brain and caused her to shiver: they would have to find out SOONER or later.

- 3 - 3 - 3 -

The guys, meanwhile, hung out near a food-stand, eating corn-dogs… except for the former-slaves, who eyed theirs curiously. "Are you going to eat it, or do you want to take a picture first?" Puggsy asked them, arching an eyebrow.

"I've never seen one, before." Jack said, rotating his corn-dog in his hand.

"You mean, they don't have corn-dogs in the Netherworld?" Fangs asked, surprised. "Yeesh. It must be one deprived world."

"It basically is," Cheshire said, letting out a sigh. "We don't have many modern-day devices you guys have."

"Yeah… I'm surprised we got around to discovering electricity and making the television," Skoon scoffed.

"But, don't get us wrong." Cheshire finally took a bite out of his corn-dog. "It's a pretty nice place to live, once you… get… used… to… Holy crud, this thing tastes AMAZING!"

Puggsy rolled his eyes. Great. First a bunch of psycho princes, and now we're hanging out with a bunch of creatures who are stuck in the medieval times! he thought.

"So, Fangs, what do ye t'ink of Liru?" Jack asked, giving a sly smile. "Deh two of ye seem pretty close…"

"She's okay, I guess," Fangs replied, quietly munching on his corn-dog. "She's pretty nice."

"Okay? Pretty nice? Pfft! She's basically deh greatest catch a boy like ye could ever have!" he turned to Biff. "And ye, boy… ye got quite a keeper yer-self. Dat Aiko is a smart one, she is- a whole lot smarter t'an Stefan could be- an' is deh sweetest lass I've ever met!" he turned to Cheshire. "An' Yuma's probably deh second best girl ye could have, Cheshy! Basically yer type," he turned to Elliot and Skoon. "An' yer girls… er… well, I haven't seen ya wit' any, yet, but whoever ya meet, they'll be as sweet an' smart, I'm sure!" Skoon and Elliot sneered, but shrugged, deciding not to take his statement TOO offensive. The pirate then turned to Puggsy, grinning slyly. "How 'bout you, Pugs? …Ye got a special girl too, don't ya?"

Puggsy glowered at him, seeing where he was going with this conversation. "No. …Even if I did, it wouldn't be any of YOUR business," he scoffed. "Why are you talking about girls, anyway? Don't you have anything ELSE on your pin-brained mind?"

He just shrugged. "Eh, not much. Jus' thoughts about sailing deh sea, again..."

"Are you going to finish that?" Cheshire asked Jack, pointing at his untouched corn-dog. Jack rolled his eyes and handed his corn-dog to the were-cat, who immediately ate it.

- 3 - 3 - 3 -

Later that day, everyone met up with each other near the beach, where most people were setting up equipment for the fireworks for tonight. They walked along a narrow walk-way next to the sandy coast, heading toward a small sea-food café built close to the shore on a large deck. "Man, it's been a while since I've had a decent meal," Cheshire said, holding his stomach.

"But you just ate a tuna-sandwich five minutes ago," Yuma said.

"Ah, don't mind him," Jack scoffed. "Cheshy always has an appetite fer fish… 'cept Skoon."

A low growl… or gurgle… erupted from Skoon's throat as he gave the pirate a vicious glare, and Kim held his hand to calm him down. "Don't let it get to you," she whispered, and he nodded in reply.

"Man, I'm STARVING," Liru said, her stomach growling. "I haven't eaten in, like, forever!"

"You had breakfast this morning," Fangs said.

"Yeah, that was, like, 7 hours ago! …You know how long that is in werewolf hours?"

"Apparently, Cheshire isn't the only one with a large appetite," Biff joked.

"Just wait until we get around meat," Aiko said, giving a soft giggle.

Once they reached the restaurant, however, their appetites practically disappeared at seeing what the price was for getting a table- especially without a reservation. "Sheesh, people must be pretty hungrified if they plan on spending their life-savings eating here." Puggsy scoffed.

"Maybe we could all pitch-in?" Keimi suggested.

"Okay!" Liru, Pachira, Aiko, and Yuma exclaimed.

"Hold on, girls," Biff said, looking through the window of the restaurant. "Even if we COULD afford it, I don't think we'd be able to eat here,"

"Ooh, ooh! How come, Biff? Is it full?" Fangs asked.

"Has it been rented out for some occasion?" Pachira asked.

"Is it out of food?" Liru and Cheshire both gasped, developing shocked chibi-faces.

"Nope…" Biff said, then stepped to the side, showing a 'Closed' sign in the window. "It's not open."

Cheshire and Liru's expressions went from shocked to disappointed. "Aw…."

"We could go back to the hotel and order room-service," Kim suggested.

"Room service?" The four Netherworld princesses repeated, confused.

"Yeah, you know… where you can order food in the hotel and they bring it to you?" Puggsy clarified.

"(gasp) They can actually DO that?" Liru exclaimed, then grabbed Fangs by the hand. "What are we waiting for? Lets go!" Immediately, she began running down the walk-way, back to the hotel, with Fangs in tow.

"Whoa! Liru, slow down!" Fangs cried as Liru pulled him along.

"C'mon, Baby Fangs!" Shang said, wrapping both her hands around Baby Fangs' abdomen and 'carrying' him along as she ran after Liru and Fangs. "We can't let them hog all the food!"

"Gah! S-Shang, s-slow d-down!" Baby Fangs cried as Shang carried him.

"C'mon, lets race 'em!" Cheshire said excitedly, running down the walkway.

"Okay!" Yuma said, running next to Cheshire.

Puggsy rolled his eyes. "Pass." he scoffed, walking at a normal pace.

"You guys go ahead," Skoon said. "I'm going to take a swim," He walked down some stairs that lead to the beach, and began walking toward the ocean.

"I t'ink I'll stick around wit' Skoon," Jack said, following the sea-creature. "'Tis been a while since I had a good swim me-self."

As the others walked down the walkway (save their friends who were racing for room-service) Kim looked down at the beach, watching as Skoon jumped out of his disguise and dove into the water, and Jack took off his shirt, sandals, and bandana, following the sea-creature into the water. Her pace slowed down until she stopped, and leaned against the walkway's railing, watching the two of them swim. "Kimmy-chan, are you coming?" Pachira asked her.

"You guys go ahead. I'm um… going to watch the sunset," Kim lied.

"Mind if we watch with you?" Keimi asked as she and Elliot stood beside Kim, who shrugged in reply.

"The sunset IS beautiful," Aiko said, smiling as she turned to Biff. "Do you want to watch it, too?"

"Sure… how about from the hotel's top patio?" Biff suggested. "It's sure to be a more beautiful view from up there."

"Okay," Arm-in-arm, they walked back to the hotel.

Pachira walked next to Puggsy, seeing that everyone else (except Kim, Skoon, and Jack) were holding on to someone (though, it was hard to say if Keimi was holding on to Elliot, but the way the ghost held up his arm and leaned his head, she didn't doubt it). I wonder… if he wouldn't mind… Pachira thought, looking at Puggsy, slowly moving her hand towards his… but pulled it back, holding it with her other own hand. For some reason, she didn't feel like holding hands with him just yet. But he held your hand this morning! …for two seconds… She then looked ahead at her friends, once again shivering at the thought of what they would say if they found out she was going on a date with Puggsy, worried that they might laugh… or worse, if they made fun of them and he decided not to date her.

But you're on a date NOW, a voice said inside her head. …Though, it's not exactly a 'date', since everyone else is joining you… and the fact that you both weren't planning on dating until 8 o'clock tonight…

She shook her head and kept walking, realizing that the others had gotten ahead of them and they were close to the hotel now. Maybe they won't even notice, she thought, hopefully. Since we're all going to the celebration together, they won't realize that me and Puggsy are…

"Pachira?"

She froze, breaking out of her thoughts and looking around at who said her name… noticing it was Puggsy. "Ah, yes?" she asked, nervously.

"Are you okay? You're pretty quiet… and you're looking pretty pale,"

Pachira looked at herself, seeing that he was right- her face WAS paling, and she looked almost sickly. She then realized that she hadn't had any blood or tomato juice for almost two days, and the thought made her feel weak and she leaned against a wall. "Uh… I don't feel so good…" she grabbed her stomach, feeling it tremble.

Puggsy stood next to her, resting his hand on her shoulder. "You don't look good, either… Are you sick, or something?"

"I… I need…" she paused, wondering if she should tell him about her thirst. It might scare him… of course, he already knew she was a vampire, so she doubt it would.

"What? What do you need?"

"I need… b-blood…" she leaned close to him-

-but he was suddenly yanked away from her. "WHOA!"

"I'd suggest you pick a different victim, darling," a sinister voice said, and Pachira gasped to see Drake standing before her.

- 3 - 3 - 3 -

Cheshire and Liru raced each other, neck-in-neck, trying to beat each other to their rooms. Yuma held hands with Cheshire, running as fast as she could, then got an idea and pulled out her wand. "Oh, mighty forces who control time, make our friends freeze in time!" she said, then began to chant… but Cheshire turned a sharp corner and she dropped her staff. "Hey!"

Liru stepped on the staff, tripping over it and falling on the ground, pulling Fangs with her and he landed on top of her. "Cheaters!" she yelled at Yuma.

"Remind me not to compete with you guys in a three-legged race…" Fangs grunted, still lying on top of Liru.

Suddenly, a dark shadow fell over them. "Get off my bride, you pathetic excuse for a Lycan." An angry voice growled. They rolled over and gasped, seeing Lupe- in his werewolf form- standing before them, eyes glowing with hatred.

Shang and Baby Fangs ran around the corner, but froze when they saw the werewolf-prince. "Oh, no…" Shang gasped, pulling Baby Fangs back behind the corner as they stared at Lupe.

"Yiiiiiiikes!" Fangs screamed, climbing off Liru and ducking behind her. "L-Liru! Do something!"

"Yes, Liru, do something… and come with me," Lupe scoffed, then reached over and grabbed her.

"Fangs, help!" Liru screamed, kicking and punching at Lupe as he carried her over his shoulder.

Fangs bit his bottom lip, unable to do anything… but he knew he had to try. "H-Hey! Let her g-go!" he shouted, running after Lupe, who turned around and snarled at him, making him freeze in his tracks. "Er… please?"

Oh, brother… Liru thought, slapping her forehead. Looks like it's up to me… While Lupe was snarling at Fangs, she reached down and grabbed his tale, then bit it hard. He howled in pain and dropped her, making her fall on her back… a perfect position for kicking someone in the privates.

"Oof!" Lupe squeaked, falling into the fetal-position.

"RUN!" Fangs cried, grabbing Liru and running as fast as they could. Lupe got his steam back, then began to pursue them.

"C'mon, we've got to warn the others!" Shang whispered to Baby Fangs, and they quickly ran off.

- 3 - 3 - 3 -

Kim sat on the beach, watching Jack and Skoon swim in the water, body-surfing with the waves. The Pirate-Prince seemed happy to be in salty water, though Skoon seemed the most satisfied- after all, he was a sea-creature, Kim knew, and keeping him from water would be terrible for him. I wonder if those dastardly princes let him swim, often. she wondered. She thought about how Biff told her about the trail of water, and she figured Skoon had been kept in water back in the Underworld… possibly in a tank, knowing how cruel the princes were. She couldn't help feel sorry for him- he was a nice creature, yet he was an abused slave, couldn't speak English, and the only one out of the rest of the group who had to wear a disguise, otherwise be labeled as a freak of nature. The others are netherworld creatures too- except Jack- yet their appearance is more human-like and hansom. It's not fair, she let out a sigh.

"What's with the sudden sigh?" Elliot asked her as he and Keimi decided to join her on the beach.

"I was just thinking about Skoon," Kim replied. "He's really upset about his appearance."

"A lot of monsters are," Keimi said. "Most are so grotesque, they hide away so no one sees them- the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot are classic examples."

Kim shrugged. "Skoon doesn't seem like much of a monster to me. He's really… kind and gentle."

"That's not even the half of it," Elliot said. "He's also very loyal- especially to friends. He's the nicest guy you could ever meet."

Kim nodded, a small smile spreading on her lips. "I wouldn't doubt it."

Jack and Skoon finished their swim, meeting up with them then. "So, who's hungry?" Jack asked, pulling his shirt, sandals, and bandana back on.

"I am," Keimi said. "I'm pretty much starving, after a long day like this,"

"Same here," Kim said. "I'm almost as hungry as Liru!"

Keimi chuckled. "Kim, I don't think that's possible,"

"How about you, Skoon?" Jack asked. "Ye hungry too?" Skoon nodded in response.

They walked back up onto the plank… only to be intercepted by two large, vicious winged-serpents. Kim shrieked, and Jack took out a knife while Skoon snarled. "They're Parker's pets!" Skoon said. "He must have brought them!"

"Damn that wizard and his reptiles!" Jack lashed out at a winged-serpent as it struck, giving it a cut and making it pull back.

"Asu!" One winged-serpent hissed.

"Asu asu!" the other spat.

They then struck at the same time- the left one wrapping around Jack's knife-hand, and the right one wrapping around Skoon's neck. Kim grabbed one by the tail, trying to yank it off Skoon, but it snapped at her, nearly biting her. "Don't get close! Their venom can kill you in seconds!" the sea-creature warned.

Just then, a pair of invisible hands grabbed the serpents by their throats and pulled them off. "I got them off!" Keimi yelled. The snakes sensed her and bit her- where, no one knew… until blood drizzled down her arms… or, at least, I think it's her arms. Suddenly, her grip weakened, and everyone heard a *thud!*

"Keimi-san!" Elliot gasped, kneeling to the ground where he believed she fell.

The serpents prepared to strike again, but were interrupted by two voices: "Usa usa!"

Suddenly, two rabbits swooped down and smacked them in their faces, then hopped around, blowing raspberries at them. "Asu !" The two snakes hissed, trying to catch them, but Tan and Jun were too quick.

While the snakes were distracted, Jack and Skoon grabbed them by their throats. Jack slit the left one's throat, while Skoon strangled the right one, and the two snakes turned to ashes. "C'mon. Winged-serpents tend tah rejuvenate from their ashes!" Jack said.

"I thought that was a phoenix." Kim said.

Jack rolled his eyes. "What species of bird did ye t'ink they git their wings, from?"

"What about Keimi?" Elliot asked.

Skoon knelt beside him. "It's not too late. We can still suck out the poison!" he said. Elliot nodded and grabbed one of her bleeding arms, sucking on the bitten wound- even though he was a ghost, he still had the ability to suck out the poison and save her.

Jack nodded. "Aye… we'd better get sucking, fast then!" he said, grabbing her other bleeding arm. "Lord knows what's happenin' tah deh others…" He then began to suck out the poison.

"You guys take care of Keimi. I'll go warn the others!" Kim said, running down the deck.

"Usa, usa!" Tan cried as he and Jun followed her.

"I'm going with you!" Skoon said, following her. "There's NO WAY I'm letting you handle my master alone,"

They ran down the walkway, while Jack and Elliot stayed with Keimi… all of them hoping their friends were alright.

- 3 - 3 - 3 -

Biff and Aiko climbed the stairs. "So… how are you going to get me a real body?" Aiko asked him out of the blue.

He paused. "Um… I'm not sure yet…" he said bluntly, blushing. "B-But I'll figure something out."

"Better think fast, then!" A nasally- yet sinister- voice snapped, and they looked up, seeing Stefan leaping over the railing above them!

…though, his agility was off, and rather than landing on Biff, his chin hit the railing (making it dent into a U-shape) and he fell down the stairs. Biff and Aiko looked at him, then at each other, then began running as fast as they could up the stairs.

"You can run (ow) but you can't (ooch) hide! (ouch)" Stefan stood up, rubbing his aching back, then began climbing the stairs in pursuit. "Ooh, that's gonna leave a mark…"

- 3 - 3 - 3 -

Yuma and Cheshire reached the girls' room, and the Witch-Princess pumped her fists into the air. "Yes! We beat 'em!" she exclaimed.

"Great, now lets get room-service," Cheshire said, rubbing his stomach. "I'm starving."

They walked into the room, and as the were-cat ordered room-service, Yuma sat on her bed and took out her spell book, over-looking all the spells she wanted to use. Suddenly, she gasped. "Oh, my gosh! I just remembered I dropped my staff back in the hall!"

Cheshire hung up the phone, just in time to hear her, and stood on his hands and the tip of his toes, stretching like a cat and yawning. "Do you want to go get it?"

Yuma, dazzled by his pose, sat on the edge of the bed and blushed. "Eh heh… nah, it's okay."

Cheshire stood up, giving her a sly smile. "Are you sure? Someone could take it, if you leave it lying around…" he began walking over to her.

The closer he got, the faster Yuma's heart began to beat. "I-I'm sure Liru or Fangs will grab it and… bring it… back…" Cheshire had sat down next to her, gazing into her eyes. Their faces were an inch apart, and they moved closer…

"Don't be so sure about it," A cold-toned voice sneered, and they looked over and saw Parker standing in the doorway… holding Yuma's staff. "I hope you don't mind, honey, but I've decided to 'borrow' your staff until I get my wand back from that crazed super-doctor. Its style is kind of girly but it'll do, I suppose." he then turned to Cheshire, eyes blazing with fury. "Now, step away from my bride, you over-grown feline seducer!" He aimed the staff at Cheshire, making a bolt of lightening shoot out of it.

Cheshire hissed and dove out of the way, changing into his cat-form and hiding under the bed. "Reow!" he screeched.

Parker then approached Yuma, taking the spell-book from her hands. "Ah, my spell-book. I wondered what happened to it." He then fixed his gaze on her, his eyes dark. "Now, question is… which spell should I use to dispose of those meddlers?"

- 3 - 3 - 3 -

A/N: Leave it to me to put our heroes in a tough situation.

Please review.

Please flame if you feel like impersonating a slinky and being thrown down a large flight of stairs.